The $45 Windows Laptop 299
YokimaSun writes "The search for a cheap laptop has brought us news from India of a $10 laptop (which later turned out to be a hundred dollars). Today PC Gaming News has details of a laptop which is selling for a measly 45 dollars, what do you get for that, you get a netbook running windows embedded compact 7, 128 megs of ram, a via8505 processor and a 7 inch screen capable of 800x480 pixels resolution." I'm still waiting for my under $50 Macbook.
This will be awful (Score:3, Informative)
The VIA8505 SoC is a AWFUL chip. I have a tablet based one of these running Android and it SUCKS.
Maybe the editors could actually read submissions? (Score:5, Informative)
This is an eBay sale of a discontinued netbook.
As somebody pointed out, if you wanted a $50 netbook, they can look on Craigslist or eBay themselves.
Nothing new or interesting here,
myke
Correct me if I'm wrong... (Score:5, Informative)
... but isn't Windows 7 Embedded Compact the new name for what used to be called (much more appropriately) WinCE?
In other words, this is an almost-useless piece of junk that runs a nearly dead operating system that is being dropped by MS in its next version.
I bought something very similar in the UK for about £30 a couple of years ago. It was useless then, it'll be useless now.
Re:Can't wait to see so-called "gamers" buy this (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.amazon.com/SYNET7WID-7-Inch-Wireless-Mobile/dp/B003ZYUCDS [amazon.com]
Not "Windows" in any meaningful sense (Score:5, Informative)
I saw this same (or very similar) model on sale at the local CVS. One reason it's so cheap is that it doesn't run "Windows" in any meaningful sense. It runs an embedded-system OS that is called Windows, but isn't compatible with any existing Windows software. (Look for much more of this kind of confusion with the upcoming WinRT for ARM.) Furthermore, since this netbook doesn't have an x86 processor, it can't run the real version of Windows.
Re:Not "Windows" in any meaningful sense (Score:5, Informative)
I'm pretty sure this is the Sylvania netbook that appeared in 2010 for $99 at CVS [informationweek.com]. Reviewers were not kind about it, but the novelty of buying a $99 computer at a drug store was sort of fun. It's no surprise that 21 months later it's dropped under $50.
These little craptops have always intrigued me, and it's just a matter of time before someone puts out one in the under-$100 range that's not entirely terrible. There's this guy [ebay.com] that is available new from lots of ebay sites (I chose this one at random and am not endorsing it). It runs Android 2.2 and sports 256 mb of RAM. I haven't seen any kind words about it and from the specs it's likely still terrible, but you're starting to approach something respectable. It's not that far from being a 7" version of the Efika MX SmartBook [genesi-usa.com], which isn't a world beater by any stretch, but which is light and fanless and runs Linux and sort of harks back to what was fun about early netbook.
This is not new, they used to be $99 (Score:3, Informative)
Re:"I'm still waiting for my under $50 Macbook." (Score:4, Informative)
I think that hasn't been true in a long time.
I'm not so sure. A couple years ago I bought an HP Envy 15 for $999 after rebates with 1600x900 display, 160GB ssd, extra battery, 4 GB RAM... I don't remember what the exact specs were for an equivalent Macbook Pro, but I did significant price comparison and the Macbook was over $2000 for lesser hardware in every regard. Just priced out a brand new Envy 15 comapred to the brand new Macbook pro, and here's what we get:
.16" of height, OSX, and the Apple branding as far as I can tell.
Envy 15
Display: 15.6" 1920x1080
Processor: 3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3610QM Processor (2.3 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)
Graphics: 1GB Radeon(TM) HD 7750M GDDR5 Graphics
Storage: 750GB 7200 rpm Hard Drive
Memory: 6GB 1600DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Height: 1.11 inches
Weight: 5.79 lbs
Battery Life: 10 hours
Warranty: 2 years
Price: $1,350.00
Macbook Pro 15
Display: 15.4" 1440 x 900
Processor" 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz) with 6MB L3 cache
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 512MB of GDDR5
Storage: 500GB 5400-rpm hard drive
Memory: 4GB of 1600MHz DDR3
Height: 0.95 inch (2.41 cm)
Weight: 5.6 pounds
Battery Life: 7 Hours
Warranty: 1 year
Price: $1800
So from my perspective, for $450 less (and this isn't even without ninja rebate magic like I pulled on my last Envy) I'm getting better graphics, more storage, more memory, better display, bigger display, longer battery life, longer warranty, and I'm also getting a decent built laptop with premium features like aluminum casing, slot load DVD, and backlit keyboard, and basic features not available on the macbook pro like HDMI port, display port, 3 USB ports, higher maximum memory (16gb as opposed to 8gb for the macbook pro... how is this a "pro" model again?)
If the Macbook Pro was really a premium model with premium build and premium specs, then yes, I'd be willing to spend more on it. But it just looks like more money for less value all around. You're really paying a premium for